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Donald Trump awarded country music singer Toby Keith the National Medal of the Arts as he was indicted for an unprecedented second time on Wednesday.
The outgoing president presented Keith, 59, with the country’s highest honor for the arts during a “ closed-door press ceremony ” in the East Room of the White House yesterday.
Former White House press secretary Sean Spicer uploaded an image to Instagram of a Trump standing next to Keith, who appears to be sporting a grim expression.
The ceremony, which reportedly ended in ‘minutes’, took place as the House, led by Nancy Pelosi, voted to impeach Trump for the second time for his role in’ inciting insurgency during the violent riots last week on the Capitol.
While the president was unable to post about the ceremony on social media, having been banned from multiple platforms, Keith, meanwhile, made no mention of receiving the high presidential honor on any of his pages. official.
Keith, famous for his patriotic hits such as “ Courtesy of the Red White & Blue, ” performed at Trump’s inauguration ceremony in 2017, but never publicly endorsed the president.
The country star spoke shortly after the inauguration ceremony, defending his decision to appear, saying: ‘I make no apologies for playing for our country or our military. ”
Former White House press secretary Sean Spicer uploaded an image to Instagram of Trump standing next to Keith during the ceremony
Keith, famous for his patriotic hits such as ‘Courtesy of the Red White & Blue,’ performed at Trump’s inauguration ceremony in 2017 (above)
The reason for Keith’s silence is currently unclear. A representative for the singer has yet to return a request for comment from DailyMail.com.
In the ceremony program notes, shared by Spicer, Keith received the award for “his extraordinary contribution to American music.”
“Coming from humble beginnings in the oil fields of Oklahoma, Toby Keith has become one of the most important songwriters of his generation,” the program reads. “His musical contributions have provided the country with powerful and emotional songs that captivate and inspire the nation.
Blue grass singer Ricky Skaggs, opera star Mary Costa, longtime National Art Gallery director Earl Powell III and legendary war photojournalist Nick Ut also received the award.
In addition to playing Trump’s inauguration, Keith also played events for President George Bush and Barack Obama, claiming his decision to perform at each of them was about America, not party lines.
Without ever having approved of Trump, Keith previously called the president – and his then-opponent Hilary Clinton – “ media whores ” in an interview in September 2016.
“It’s by far the best country you can live in, and we picked these two candidates to be media whores and go out there and take care of the world, huh?” he said in an interview at the Route 91 Harvest Festival in Las Vegas. He then called the election a “trash fire”.
Keith made no mention of receiving the presidential honor on any of his official pages
His last Instagram post (above) was posted on Tuesday, just a day before he received the honor
In the ceremony program note, shared by Spicer, Keith received the award for “ his extraordinary contribution to American music
When asked earlier in August which candidate he would vote for in 2016, Keith said: ‘This election, I don’t think it makes a difference.
“ I can’t believe there are 300 million Americans in this country and we have these last two as our last two. It is absolutely crazy.
Keith previously revealed that he was raised a Democrat in Oklahoma and was registered with the party until 2008 when he became independent.
“I have been a Democrat all my life. They kind of disowned me when I started supporting the troops and then I registered as an independent, ”he told the Chicago Tribune. “I have never been a registered Republican. It puts people off balance. They don’t know what to think.
Ahead of this year’s election, Keith has made his voice heard on social media urging Americans to ‘get out there and vote’ regardless of their political affiliations or opinions.
“I just think everyone should have an opinion and everyone should vote,” one tweet read. “That’s what we’re building on.
During his early years, Keith had been very eloquent politically during George W. Bush’s tenures as Commander-in-Chief. In 2003, he engaged in a public feud with the Chicks – formerly known as Dixie Chicks – after the band’s lead singer criticized Bush just before the Iraq war.
Keith performed at Trump’s inauguration ceremony in 2017, but stopped by before pledging his support for the president
Ricky Skaggs (above), who also received the award on Wednesday, has yet to post to his social media about the honor
The National Medal of the Arts is awarded to artists who “ deserve special recognition for their outstanding contributions to the excellence, growth, support and availability of the arts in the United States, ” according to a website of the government.
Ricky Skaggs, who also received the award on Wednesday, has yet to post on his social media about receiving the honor.
Unlike Keith, the blue grass singer has praised Trump in the past, saying in 2016, “ I think Donald Trump is the right person in the right place and that is prophetic. ”
Skaggs also credited Trump’s “enthusiasm” and “fighting spirit”.
“ He won’t let anyone bulldozer over him because he’s a bulldozer himself, ” he said at the time.
Trump previously presented the National Medal of the Arts to Alison Krauss and Jon Voight at a ceremony in 2019.
Earlier this week, New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick announced he would decline Trump’s Presidential Medal of Freedom, which he was due to receive on Thursday.
Belichick, who was once friends with Trump, cited the “ tragic events of the past week ” as a catalyst for his decision.
“ Recently I was offered the opportunity to receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom, which flattered me out of respect for what the honor represents and out of admiration for past recipients, ” said Belichick, coach – team leader since 2000, in a statement.
“ Subsequently, the tragic events of the past week occurred and the decision was made not to go ahead with the award. Above all, I am an American citizen with great reverence for our nation’s values, freedom and democracy ”.
Earlier this week, New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick (above) announced he would decline Trump’s Presidential Medal of Freedom, which he was due to receive on Thursday.
Other former associates and organizations with close ties to Trump have severed ties with him in recent days, following the insurgency in Washington.
On Monday it was reportedly ‘gutted’ after the Professional Golf Association decided to withdraw the 2022 PGA Championship from its private club in New Jersey.
The president made history on Wednesday by backing the first commander-in-chief to be impeached twice.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi will decide when to forward the article to the Senate, which must either dismiss the charge or hold a trial. At least 67 of the 100 senators are needed for a conviction, which would require the removal of Trump from office.
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